Further practical processes

• these images show the process for adding colour to my figures 
• I went through the same initial process as I did in my previous post, where I scanned in the images in pen
• because they are quite thick black drawings, it was pretty simple to change the colours. 
• I simply added a new layer on photoshop, changed the colour of it and changed it to the 'multiply' option. This meant I could easily change the colour if I changed my mind 
• I'm excited to see how these will look alongside the other components !

Creative Expression: Effectiveness of a Weekly Craft Group with Women Who Have Experienced Trauma: Linda Garner

This is study which was mentioned to me after my initial essay draft submission- although it is quite a wordy read, I had a look through and noticed it would fit in well with the themes within my essay, I also noticed some helpful quotes!

This was a study which took place in the USA by Linda Garner, and was made up of 37 women who had all experienced emotional or physical trauma in their lives. It was a weekly craft group that went on over 7 weeks, where the women were given 2 creative activities which they could pick from. The women were also encouraged to speak openly about their feelings while taking part in the sessions. It is noted that this craft group differed from traditional art therapy, as it was seemingly a little more relaxed. Garner mentions that each of the sessions had structure for the women to follow, which is where I made the connection to the ideas of open work- although it isn't the exact same form of open work, it is similar in the way that the women were given the resources and prompts to creatively express themselves.

KEY QUOTES:

• "creativity interventions have been shown to positively influence pyschological and emotional health"
• "creativity balanced with the structure of a weekly group experience can influence the healing process"
• "creative expression is a means by which new ideas, innovative solutions, or advanced problem-solving occur"
• "no specific training in the arts is required to be a successful crafter: the activities rely on basic skills available to everyone, not just the artistically gifted"
• "weekly craft group may influence anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and self-confidence among women who have emotionally and physically experienced trauma"

Practical process

• these pages show the process i'm using to create my pages. in my previous post I mentioned that I wanted to sort out the composition and the digital elements first and then print them out to add in my figures. I found this a really good way of going it as it meant I could kind of draw around the other elements which made it look much more put together
• after I had them drawn out in pencil, I went over them in a slightly thick black felt tip, as this is the kind of aesthetic I wanted in my pages.
• I thought using the hand drawn texture would make it feel less intimidating in a way
• I think i'm going to change the colours of the lines in photoshop instead of having them all in black, so they'll contrast against the black digital lines 

Where I'm at

Going into the christmas holidays I feel quite happy with my progress, and i'm feeling especially good about my essay at the moment as I feel it's coming together nicely. Usually at this point in the project i'd be quite behind on my essay but this time I have made sure i've been more organised and given myself targets to reach each week which has really helped. I'm really getting into researching and although i'm finding it quite difficult to find appropriate resources, when I do find something which relates to my essay I think it's really interesting.

At this point I think I have been focusing a little more on my essay rather than my practical, so I need to get stuck into it over the christmas holidays. I have a lot of ideas at the moment so i'm excited to start putting some pages together and playing around with the composition. I also need to produce some more refined character design and decide on a colour scheme before putting the pages together.

I feel excited at the prospect of making a interactive book as it's not something i've ever really thought about before; I think if I get it done in time it would be nice to give some of the pages out to my family and friends and get them to fill them in!

MEET THE ARTIST series

MEET THE ARTIST series of books- these two in-particular by Rose Blake and Nick White are interactive activity books for people to fill in! This is exactly the kind of thing I'd like to create for my practical. I think the fact they are based around a topic (another artist) is good and could make it easier for me to come up with ideas so maybe this is something I could think about? 

I really like the layouts of the pages! The empty squares make it clear where you should be drawing and the compositions are lovely. I also love the colours of them, they are bright and quite inviting, but still quite minimal so it won't overpower the work people will fill in. The jumbled up, collage-y look of the last page is playful and quite fun. I already thought about using collage for my own book, so these are both really good inspiration for me!

Refining ideas & exploring composition

I thought i'd initially start off by thinking about the compositions digitally, as then I could print them off and draw figures in so they'd fit in perfectly; then once the figures are draw scan them back in and lay them on top. I want my pages to be based around the digital aspects, as I think this makes them feel more refined and a little more professional. I also love the look of the bold lines and squares and I can imagine it'll look good contrasting against the hand drawn aspects and the collage. 

These were two of the first ideas i've come up with and I think they work well as quick little tasks. The 'draw something big, small' task links in with an idea I saw from an artist therapist, where she mentioned that engaging in creative expression was easier if you started off small. 

The Open Work in Visual Design: A Model For Psychoemotional Personal Development - Rūta Mickienė 2017

I found this to be an extremely helpful piece of writing, as it was targeting something very similar to the themes within my own essay- although it was focusing more on graphic design it raised some really interesting and useful points on how open work can tie in with creative emotional expression. Again, I think I've found some really good quotes i'll definitely be including in my essay as back-up research to my question.

QUOTES:

• "self expression- a possibility for a user to participate in the creation of a work and make it individually meaningful"
• "When transferred into visual design, the principles of open work augments potential of design by not only prompting a viewer to interpret a piece, but also to participate in its creation intellectually and emotionally as well as psychically through one's senses, voice and gestures."
• "transforms a passive viewers into an active participant" 
• "According to Eco, the three key features indispensable for a cultural or artistic object to be considered an open work are the following: 1. communication based on mutually understandable signs; 2. interaction (participation) revealed as active relation between a user and an object, based on choices the user is given (the growth of choices, augments the importance of user participation); 3. self-expression - a possibility for a user to participate in the creation of a work and make it individually meaningful."